Torren' Up Cards

So by now I'm sure that many of us are aware of Topps' 1/1 blank back cards. The online-exclusive cards with a sticker on the back (that's blank) saying that the card is a 1/1 that also comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Despite it's gimmicky nature, I picked one up a while back.


Apologies for the horrible scan (my scanner really hates these bloated card holders/cases).
As you can see I picked up a 1/1 Blank Back of Hiroki Kuroda. More specifically Kuroda's card in 2014 Opening Day.

Back

I had been wanting to add a 1/1 Big Hirok card to my collection for a while now but the ones that popped up were always more expensive than what I was willing to pay.
I managed to pick up this blank back for a little less than $15 (including shipping fees), which is pretty fair IMO. Now I can proudly proclaim that I have a 1/1 card of all three of my main PC guys (Hirok, Betances & Jagielo).


Now that I have this 1/1 I'm tempted to try and go after the complete rainbow for Hirok's Opening Day cards. I already received the base from Nick and it shouldn't be too hard to find the blue parallel. Although the printing plates and purple Toys R Us parallel (yes, toys r us has their own Opening Day parallels too) will be something else.
On second thought forget it, I'm too lazy/cheap to undergo such a thing.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and tolerating my horrible scans. As always, take care :).

A few weeks ago the Staten Island Yankees were hosting a fun little promotion on Facebook known as #Yanksgiving. You basically had to mention one person that you knew was going to have one heck of a year this year and you (or rather the person you nominated) could've potentially won an assortment of goodies courtesy of the Staten Island Yankees. Unfortunately I never one anything (like always) but the Staten Island Yankees were nice enough to send everybody who participated a compensation prize.


I'm not sure about the other participants but my gift came in a PWE that featured the SI Yanks logo, address and ballpark logo on the top left.


If you look at the letter the Yankees sent me, you'll probably notice that it mentions a certain collector of the lost variety. Well that's because I mentioned/nominated our good friend AJ as the "friend" who was going to have one heck of a year. Partly because nothing beats somebody who's going to have their second child, but also because AJ's the only "friend" I know who's into baseball as much as I am. Most/all of my friends in real life are too busy with school, work or drugs (or all three) to bother going to sports games with me or are currently living in another country. Forever alone, thy name is Zippy Zappy.
So thanks for your help AJ. I'll be bombarding you with a huge stack of Yanks for your help (or I could spot you a ticket if you'd wish).


There were other things in the envelope too like this bookmark. On one side (above) it's ruler on the other side (below) it's the SI Yankees's mascot Scooter The Holy Cow.



The Staten Island Yankees also sent along this ticket voucher for one game during the 2014 regular season. One free professional baseball game is probably the best prize you could ever give to a baseball fan.

So yeah, you can probably see why I'm such a huge fan of the Staten Island Yankees. I'm pretty sure that a lot of other minor league teams and even some major league teams do these kinds of promotions (maybe even on a bigger scale) but I just love supporting my semi-local team.

As always thanks for taking the time to stop by and take care :).
BTW, #BabyBombers is the Staten Island Yankees's official twitter hashtag this year. Take that the other 7 Yankees affiliates! ;).

I'm not sure who came up with the title "Joy Of A Completed Set" but whoever you are, I owe you a card.
Anyway, after two years of working on the 2012 Sega Card Gen set, I'm finally finished! Last week I noticed that two of the very last Sega Card Gen cards I needed were on eBay (and yes, they were sold by the guy who always sells SCG cards) and although they were pricey ($24 bucks for 2 freaking cards!?!) it was all for greater good as I can finally put the base set to rest.

And what where those cards that cost me $10 each you may ask?

J12-405/408

Well the first one is Gio Gonzalez.

J12-406/408

The second is former Yankees farmhand Tyler Clippard.
For whatever reason, the Nationals in 2012 Sega Card Gen are really hard to come across. Especially these two. In fact, these two cards were basically the reason this set took two years to complete. I managed to get all of the other cards in a matter of months but these cards took years.

But I have them now and that's all that matters. And because I finally have all 408 base cards in 2012 Sega Card Gen, I'm going to show the rest of them all in this post. I'll be going in the order these cards are arranged in on the checklist (which itself is in alphabetical order, American League teams first, Nationals League teams never, er, I mean second).
BTW, I'm sorry if some of the cards are hard to see. I kinda scanned everything in a hurry and wasn't expecting all these size differences.

Baltimore Orioles: Cards 1-14



Boston Red Sox: Cards 15-28



Cleveland: Cards 29-43



Chicago White Sox: Cards 44-55



Detroit Tigers: Cards 56-70



Kansas City Royals: Cards 71-83



Los Angeles Angels Of Anaheim: Cards 84-100



Minnesota Twins: 101-113



New York Yankees: Cards 114-128



Oakland Athletics: 129-138



Seattle Mariners: Cards 139-150



Tampa Bay Rays: Cards 151-164



Texas Rangers: Cards 165-179



Toronto Blue Jays: Cards 180-194



Arizona Diamondbacks: Cards 195-209



Atlanta Braves: Cards 210-223



Chicago Cubs: Cards 224-234



Cincinnati Reds: Cards 234-246



Colorado Rockies: Cards 247-260



Houston Astros: Cards 261-271



Los Angeles Dodgers: Cards 272-283



Miami Marlins: Cards 284-298



Milwaukee Brewers: Cards 299-311



New York Mets: Cards 312-325



Philadelphia Phillies: Cards 326-339



Pittsburgh Pirates: Cards 340-353



San Diego Padres: Cards 354-367



San Francisco Giants: Cards 368-380



St. Louis Cardinals: Cards 381-395



Washington Nationals: 396-408



Now that the 2012 SCG base set is done. I might (MIGHT) go after the exchange cards/short prints. I won't be going after the 60-card foil variation subset though, that's too expensive.
And for those of you who are wondering, I will NOT be going after the 2013 SCG set or the 2014 SCG set. In fact, I can safely say that I'll probably never chase another full set for a product that has over 50 cards ever again.

Now before I end this post, I'd just like to thank everybody who's helped me build this set and those of you who've supported me during this journey. And finally, in order to celebrate this joyous occasion, I'll be hosting my very first contest (as a blogger anyway). I haven't decided what I plan to do just yet, but look out for my contest post sometime tomorrow or on Sunday.

As always, thanks for stopping by and take care :).